Death Stranding Wiki:Blocking guidelines
This is the official page for the blocking guidelines of the Death Stranding Wiki. These guidelines establish reasoning for blocks and how administrators are expected to handle them. All policies are expected to be understood and adhered by all users on the wiki, regardless of status or position, generally before contributing to the wiki. Failure to comply with these policies may result in a warning, and if continued, a block from the wiki. Certain policies are able to be changed or modified based on a general community consensus. Anyone who disagrees with a policy is welcome to suggest changes, which can be organized on Discussions or contacting an administrative member. Blocking overview Blocking, also known as banning, is an administrative action that prevents an IP account or registered user from editing on the wiki. The duration of blocks may vary, depending on the severity of the offense committed. These guidelines should be used as the general standards for determining block durations, but administrators should use their own discretion on a case-by-case basis. If the offense committed appears to be minor or unintentional, the responsible user may first receive a warning(s). If the user continues to commit minor offenses, they may be subject to a block from the wiki. Blocks are appropriately given to any user on the wiki regardless of status or position. It must be noted that blocks are not to be discussed openly by the community. The administrative team will decide on whether or not a block is necessary. However, it should be noted that if users are discussing unblocking a user, the original user that gave the block must be contacted on their talk page. Request block Any user may request a block on an active administrator's talk page for major incidents of vandalism or disruption. Users requesting blocks should supply credible evidence of the circumstances warranting a block. Users requesting blocks are not free to suggest the duration of a block, as that is determined at an administrator's discretion. Administrators are never obliged to place a block and are free to investigate the situation themselves. Because blocks may be reviewed and appealed, it is often important that the blocking and reviewing administrators each communicate with and take care to inform the other. Upon blocking users, administrators are advised to add the template to the user's talk page in order to formally state why the user has been blocked and how long for. Naturally, any formal and clear notice is acceptable though. Blocked users can appeal their blocks by making a statement on their talk page. Except in cases of unambiguous error, administrators should not undo other administrators' blocks without prior discussion; see below. Reasons for blocking In general, administrators should warn users (see Warning guidelines) before blocking them for one of the acceptable reasons listed below; users may having mistakenly misbehaved through ignorance to policy, not with malicious intent. However, this is left at the discretion of the administrator in question. While abuse of power is strictly prohibited, administrators may block users without warning so long as they later justify said block on the user's talk page after such. Above all, personal attacks are almost never justifiable against other users; it is common decency to be respectful of fellow editors. Acceptable reasons Accounts and addresses may be blocked for behavior that damages or disrupts the wiki, including: * Recurring vandalism or spamming – Vandalism is the most common reason for blocks on the wiki, and is defined as any edits made out of bad faith. This includes but is not limited to adding inappropriate or nonsensical words to articles, blanking pages, creating spam pages, purposefully changing correct information, and uploading inappropriate, pornographic, or spam images. Blatant vandals can be instantly blocked for at least three days, though warnings may be given beforehand at user discretion should users feel they are necessary. Repeat offenders may be blocked for two weeks, one month, and then one year, for the second, third, and fourth blocks, respectively. * Recurring failure to behave in a respectable manner and making personal attacks – As stated in our user treatment policy, personal attacks of any kind are not permitted on the wiki. Inciting or participating in flame wars is also considered a violation of this rule. A stern warning should be given prior to a block. If the attacks continue, the user may be blocked for at least one week if the user committed multiple personal attacks. Users who are blocked on the basis of personal attacks for more than five times may be subject to becoming indefinitely blocked. Due to the varying severity that personal attacks can have, administrators should use their own discretion when selecting a block duration. * Recurring harassment – As defined by Wikipedia, harassment is "a pattern of repeated offensive behavior that appears to a reasonable observer to intentionally target a specific person or of persons." Continually harassing a user is subject to our user treatment policy, and can have the same consequences as listed above. Due to the varying severity that constitutes harassment, administrators should use their own discretion when selecting a block duration. * Continual edit warring – As defined by Wikipedia, edit warring "occurs when editors who disagree about the content of a page repeatedly override each other's contributions." Edit warring doesn't only clutter the wiki's activity and a page's history, but creates animosity between editors, making consensus harder to reach. Users who participate in edit warring may be subject to a stern warning. If the user continues to edit war, they may be blocked for at least one week. If continued, the user may be subject to another block based on the severity of their offense. Always remember that edit wars can be avoided by leaving a message on the conflicting user's talk page in order to reach a consensus in a civil manner. * Sock puppetry – Sock puppetry is defined as using another account and/or IP address to circumvent a block given to another account. If your account has been blocked, creating another account to access the wiki is strongly prohibited and you must wait out your initial block. If caught committing sock puppetry, the user and all accounts involved are subject to an indefinite block, no questions asked. * No clearly discernable intent to observe policies – If a user does not properly follow any of our policies, they will be given a warning and reminder to review all of our guidelines. If they continue to not follow the policies, they are subject to several warnings and/or a block. The duration of their block may depend on the severity of what policy they break, and therefore, administrators should use their own discretion when selecting a block duration. * Accounts with inappropriate usernames – Accounts with blatantly offensive and/or inappropriate usernames are immediately subject to an indefinite ban. If a username is deemed inappropriate with no clear intent or not as severe, administrators may take steps to help you change your username. Failure to do so will result in a block, however. Unless an account is clearly only for the purposes of disruption, communication and attempted rectification of behavior should occur before a block is considered. Unacceptable reasons Accounts and addresses may not be blocked for: * Disagreeing with an administrator – All users are treated equally here on the wiki regardless of status or position. Therefore, users have a right to disagree with administrators as long as they respect our user treatment policy, and is therefore only a conflict of interest. Administrators may not block users based on this, and is considered abuse of their powers. * "Cooling off" purposes – If a user is discontent whatsoever but do not break any of our policies, they are not subject to a block for the purpose of "cooling off." This only inflames the situation. Duration of blocks The duration of the block given should depend on the severity of the behavior and the likelihood of its repetition. However, the following should be kept in mind: * In general, the first block should be of a reasonably short duration, with the length increasing progressively every time a further block is required. ** A rule of thumb is initially three days, then a week, then a month etc. * Unregistered users should never be blocked for more than a year due to the possibility that the IP address may be used by more than one person. If you see any unregistered user blocked for more than a year or indefinitely, report it on an active administrator's talk page.